Railroads, Tourism, and the Deer Park Hotel Maryland State Archives 350 Rowe Boulevard Annapolis, MD 21401 Phone: (410) 260-6400 Internet: mdsa.net e-mail: archives@mdsa.net

Introduction

With the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the development of the Pullman sleeper cars which made long distance train travel safer and more affordable, tourism began to develop across the nation.  The railroads built plush resort hotels, often around springs and marketed them to travelers.  The reason the hotels were often build by springs was because of the popularity of water cures during the 19th and early 20th -centuries.  The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad built the Deer Park Hotel in Maryland and advertised it to travelers.  They also developed a bottling facility in order to serve the spring water on trains to passengers who were unable to stay at the resort.

National History Standards

Materials compiled in this document can be used by educators to fulfill the following National History Standards for Grades 5-12:

Era 6 The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)

Standard 2: Massive immigration after 1870 and how new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity. 

Standard 2C: The student understands how new cultural movements at different social levels affected American life.
5-12: Investigate new forms of popular culture and leisure activities at different levels of American society. [Draw upon visual sources]

Primary Resources

1. TITLE:  The Main Building of the Deer Park Hotel
   DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED:  Ca 1900
   MEDIUM:  Photograph
   NOTES: Main building of the Deer Park Hotel built by the B&O Railroad.  Photo taken around the turn of the century
   REPOSITORY:  B&O Railroad Museum Archive

2. TITLE:   Boiling Spring
   DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED:  Ca 1920s
   MEDIUM:  Photograph
   NOTES: The boiling spring located on the grounds of the Deer Park Hotel.  This spring was the source for the water sold both at the hotel and onboard B&O trains.
   REPOSITORY:  B&O Railroad Museum Archive

3. TITLE:  Famous People for Many Years Have Visited the Deer Park Hotel 
   DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED:  October 1927
   NOTES: Article discussing the famous people who have stayed at the Deer Park Hotel.
   SOURCE:  The B&O Employees Magazine
   REPOSITORY:  B&O Railroad Museum Archives

4. TITLE:  President Cleveland Visits Deer Park
   DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED:  September 1948  
   SOURCE: The B&O Employees Magazine 
   REPOSITORY:  B&O Railroad Museum

5. TITLE:  Story of Deer Park Waters
   CREATED/PUBLISHED:  August 1957
   SOURCE:  The B&O Magazine
   REPOSITORY:  B&O Railroad Museum Archive

6. TITLE:  Travel Brochure for the Deer Park Hotel
   CREATED/PUBLISHED:  Ca early 1900s
   SOURCE:  B&O Railroad Passenger Department Brochure
   REPOSITORY:  B&O Railroad Museum Archive

Additional Media Resources

The Grand Canyon Starts Here

The Incline Railway

Deer Park Water History

Mountain Lake Park

Additional Instructional Resources

Resources on Incorporating Primary Sources and Historic Sites in Classroom Instruction

Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town

"There's Nuthin' to Do"

What is Tourism - An Online Lesson

Secondary Resources

Gerber, Rudy J.  The Railroad and the Canyon.  Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 1998.

Moorman, John J.  The Virginia Springs.  Richmond, VA: J.W. Randolph, 1855.

Shaffer, Marguerite S.  See America First: Tourism and National Identity.  1880-1940.  Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001. 

Standiford, Les.  Last Train to Paradise.  New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002.

Associated Heritage and Preservation Organizations

B&O Railroad Museum              901 W. Pratt St. Baltimore, MD 21223       410-752-2490

The Baltimore Streetcar Museum 1901 Falls Road P.O. Box 4881 Baltimore, MD 21211  410-547-0264

Credits

Teaching American History in Maryland is a collaborative partnership of the Maryland State Archives and the Center for History Education (CHE), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), and the following sponsoring school systems: Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Baltimore City Public School System, Baltimore County Public Schools, and Howard County Public Schools.

Other program partners include the Martha Ross Center for Oral History, Maryland Historical Society, State Library Resource Center/Enoch Pratt Free Library, with assistance from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress. The program is funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

This document packet was researched and developed by Richard Olson.

An Archives of Maryland Online Publication
© Copyright, Maryland State Archives, June 23, 2004